With the Premier League season kicking off in under 3 weeks, Fantasy Premier League managers are beginning to create their teams. Which low selected players could offer a high points tally?
Dominic Solanke - Bournemouth
Coming in at £6.5 million and only 2.8% ownership, Solanke is the perfect cheap differential. The Englishman managed a respectable 6 goals and 7 assists in the Premier League last season. However, the impressive figure from Solanke's career is his 29 goals and 7 assists in Bournemouth's promotion campaign (2021/22). The striker clearly has a goalscoring knack and, at just 25 years old, has potential to improve his output even more this season. Bournemouth have signed highly rated forwards over the last year (such as Kluivert, Ouattara, and Tavernier) who can provide the service that Solanke requires. Under new manager Iraola, a high press and counter-attacking style of football should enable him to increase his output and become a more prolific goalscorer. Solanke becomes an even more attractive differential when you consider his XG of over 9 in the league last season: if his finishing improves, he could prove to be a very valuable asset.
Nicolas Jackson - Chelsea
Moving from one striker to another, Nicolas Jackson also has an very low ownership of 1.6%. Whilst £7.0 million may seem steep, Chelsea's new signing may be their starting striker with Lukaku on the way out and Nkunku the only other candidate. In fact, this week Pochettino was quoted: "I want to see Jackson play with Nkunku". Regardless, Jackson can play anywhere across the front 3 and will certainly play a key role in Pochettino's Chelsea side. At Villarreal last season, the Nigerian bagged 12 goals and 4 assists (La Liga) in just 1600 minutes (the equivalent of under 18 games). Furthermore, in a pre-season friendly against Brighton (for Chelsea) Jackson picked up 2 assists and a goal in a 30 minute cameo. If Pochettino can steer Chelsea in the right direction, Jackson could be a great hidden gem for your FPL team.
Note: Jackson is scheduled to miss 4 games in January due to AFCON.
Emi Martinez - Aston Villa
Martinez comes in at 7.8% ownership, and will set you back £5.0 million. Whilst he does cost the same as Ramsdale and Onana, FPL managers may already have Arsenal and United defenders (Gabriel, Shaw, etc). Emi Martinez provides an alternative to doubling up on Arsenal/United defenders. After Unai Emery led Villa to an impressive 7th place finish, they have already made big signings. Pau Torres, who has already played under Emery at Villareal, comes in to tighten up their defence. The return of Diego Carlos from injury exacerbates this strength: the defender only featured in 3 games last season. Therefore, Villa essentially have 2 new centre backs to improve on their already strong defence, which conceded the 5th least amount of goals last campaign. Emery now has 4 proven centre-backs: Pau Torres, Diego Carlos, Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa. This will help cope with their increased amount of game time as they play in European football this season. This strengthening of the defence should ensure that Martinez can maintain his strong clean sheet record (11 last season). Other notable signings include highly-rated Moussa Diaby (signed from Bayer Leverkusen) and Youri Tielemans (for free after his contract at Leicester expired). Aston Villa have made significant improvements to their squad, notably in the defence, which will allow them to continue their strong defensive form. At £5.0 million, Martinez is a starting goalkeeper for a respectable top half side that pride themselves on their defensive record. If you are looking to avoid doubling up in the defence, the Argentinian may be a solid option.
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